Reasonable post. Anecdotally, the usually crowded roads are lovely to drive. Keep an eye on trucking. Since Trump, trucking has increased on our freeways to pre-2008 levels.
I drove up around Chicago in January there were more 18 wheelers on the road than cars and suvs. It was intimidating.
With lots of people working from home my wife has been enjoying a much shorter commute time. Spring break is about to start and should make it even shorter, and all "in-person" instruction is being cancelled so they are not coming back.